Prepaid wireless services are known. Such services generally permit a user to buy a refill card or other form of prepaid credit to obtain service for a mobile phone. It is often the case that, when credit is depleted, the mobile phone is cut off from the network, deactivated, or otherwise prohibited from making or receiving further calls or messages.
However, this all-or-nothing approach leaves much to be desired. From the user's perspective, a sudden prohibition on phone calls and messaging can detrimentally affect livelihood and quality of life, given that mobile communication is becoming more or less essential to modern life. From the prepay service provider's perspective, user retention may suffer if users are summarily cut off from service. Other disadvantages of current approaches are also apparent to those skilled in the art.